Sequel to McKay Plus Four
by DaniWilder
Summary: Must read Dwparnsip's McKay Plus Four to follow this. My response to something  that he did in that McKeller story. AU and OOC for several characters.
1. New Reality

**MGM owns all characters.**

**Spoilers for SG1 Episodes: **_**Point of View**_** and **_**Ripple Effect**_** and SGA: **_**McKay and Mrs Miller.**_

**A/N: I am the one who was pissed that **_**Dwparsnip**_** created such a sad universe for one of the Rodneys in **_**McKay Plus Four**_** so I'm adding to it. (With DWP's permission of course!) **

**You need to read **_**McKay Plus Four**_**, all three chapters, to make sense of this so go read it if you haven't. Awesome writing. It moved me to tag it!**

**No beta so all mistakes are mine (well, quick reads by **_**dwparsnip**_** and **_**koinekid-thanks!**_**). Also, I haven't done a ton of research on alternate universes, so sorry if my science is sloppy.  
**

* * *

"We've picked up a signal from the _Daedalus_," Major Marks stated from his position at the con. "It's banged up pretty bad, ma'am."

"Colonel Lorne, this is the Colonel Carter, do you copy?"

Static filled the room as Sam's eyes met Rodney's for a second. They both feared that the ship might have been lost during its last skirmish with the Replicators. "Rodney…" Sam started.

"I'm on it," he replied. "Trying to boost the receiver."

"Sun… Lorne… Heavy casualties…" a voice broke through the static.

"Can you clean it up?" Carter asked McKay.

"Working on it," Rodney stated as his fingers flew over the console.

"Strange energy read…. Picked up (static)…. Doctor Kusanagi ensures us she's not a Replicator. And I'll tell you she came in handy with all the injuries we had. We lost Doctor Cole when we took a hard hit … and we're still venting atmosphere," Colonel Lorne explained.

"Colonel, do you want us to beam out your crew?" Sam asked. "We'll be in range in a couple of minutes."

"If you can. Doctor Kusanagi thinks if we shut off life support to most of the ship, we'll be able to make it to Atlantis," Lorne answered.

"Great. Now what did you say about a visitor?" Carter asked.

"Doctor?" Lorne was talking to someone on his bridge.

"There was a huge power spike like the one when that rift in space-time appeared several years ago," the quiet voice of Miko Kusanagi came over the comm.

Rodney looked at Sam with guilt in his eyes, as that was one of his failed experiments.

"And then she suddenly raced into the infirmary in the midst of the attack. From what little time I've had to question her, it appears Doctors McKay and Zelenka in her universe were trying to develop a drive to move ships between parallel dimensions. Things started to unravel and the crew of the _Daedalus_ had to be beamed to a nearby planet. She somehow got transported here instead."

"Who?" Rodney asked.

"We didn't hear her name," Sam clarified.

"Doctor Jennifer Keller."

A look of absolute horror crossed Rodney's face. _Two Jennifers?_ His eyes connected with Sam who knew far too well the dangers of having two of the same person in the same universe.

"Beam her to my ready room," Sam said as she got out of her seat.

"I better go…" Rodney started heading in the opposite direction.

"Rodney, I need you with me," Sam ordered.

He nodded reluctantly and followed his CO. Tons of emotions flowed through his brain but the one at the top was a pain he couldn't brush aside. _I really hope this one isn't married to Ronon._

* * *

Jen Keller couldn't stop shaking. The events of the last forty-eight hours shook the usually calm, collected Midwesterner to the core. Never in her life had she faced as many trials.

First, the experiment on the _Daedalus_ in her universe went awry forcing the evacuation of the crew as the ship shook and began to lose power. The physician ran to her quarters to grab her pack of personal effects and was beamed out of the corridor because the ship was starting to break apart. Instead of going to a planet however, she ended up in a corridor on the _Daedalus_ once again. Explosions were wracking this one too and knocked her off her feet.

Jen raced to the infirmary, clutching her backpack, and calling Colonel Caldwell on her earwig, but only received static in return. Once she arrived, a frightened nurse that she didn't recognize cried out that the CMO had been killed and immediately pressed Jen into service. _But I'm the CMO of the Daedalus, _she thought.

After dealing with more burns, broken limbs and cuts that she had in her entire medical career to date, she passed out on a bed for a few minutes before talking to the command staff, Colonel Evan Lorne was the commander and Doctor Miko Kusanagi was the head of engineering. When she asked about Colonel Caldwell or Doctor Novak, she got sad faces stating they hadn't survived an assault by the Replicators almost four years ago. From then on the conversation spiraled out of control, leaving her dizzy and with a splitting headache.

Dr. Kusanagi deduced that Jen somehow came into contact with the rift in space-time being formed by the experiment while she was in the Asgard beam.

"So I sh-showed up on a Daedalus in a-another reality?" Jen asked with chills running up and down her spine. A report from long ago came to mind about an incident involving SG1 and Samantha Carter. _Entropic cascade failure results in the death of the subject from the alternate reality._ A wave of panic flashed through her, begging her to run, but she remained frozen on the spot.

"Yes," Colonel Lorne stated.

"And in this reality I'm not the CMO of the Daedalus?" she asked.

"No, that was Doctor Cole," the Colonel stated.

"Who is on Atlantis with Doctor Beckett in _my_ reality. She's his second-in-command." Jen gripped the gurney harder and tried to remain upright, exhaustion and terror as death loomed even closer threatened to overwhelm her.

"Doctor Beckett is alive in your reality?" Miko asked.

"Of course," Jen explained.

The sudden sounding of klaxons alerted them to another attack from the enemy called Replicators, which Jen had never heard of before, and sent them scrambling to their stations. More injuries flooded the infirmary and left her too busy to talk before the _Sun Tzu_ arrived.

* * *

Jen wasn't sure if she was being rescued or interrogated when she was told that she'd beam directly to Colonel Carter's ready room. _At least she might be able to help me. She was almost as smart as Doctor McKay in my reality._

Once Jen rematerialized in a small room and caught two sets of blue eyes looking at her with shock and sadness, she knew her life was almost over. _It's only a matter of time before you die because there are now two of you in this reality._

"Doctor _Keller_?" Sam emphasized her last name.

"Yes," she replied as she looked at the man next to Colonel Carter.

Doctor Rodney McKay stepped forward with a wary smile on his face and concern in his eyes. The concern was something she never saw from the Rodney McKay in her universe and it was the final thing to push her over the edge.

As darkness descended over her vision and she fell forward, she heard a shout of _Jennifer_ from Rodney and felt his arms wrap around her to keep her from hitting the deck.

TBC

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A/N: Yes, Alt Jen is OOC, but her past is different, as you will learn.**

**Thanks again, dwparsnip, for letting me play in your universe.**


	2. Jen

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and interest. I hope this doesn't get too confusing with the alternate timeline discussions and that the Jennifer's aren't too OOC, but no way Keller would marry Ronon, so we know that one is OOC already ;-)**

**Thanks to Betherdy Babe, Koinekid and dwparsnip for advice and beta on this.  
**

* * *

"Uhhh," Jen groaned.

"Don't move too much, Doctor Dex," a female voice from her left ordered. "I-I, I mean Doctor Keller."

"What did you call me?" Jen opened her eyes to see the familiar overhead lights of an infirmary and whipped her head to the left. A sharp pain and some distant ringing in her ears were her body's response to the sudden movement.

"Sorry, Doctor Keller," a tall dirty-blond doctor replied. "It's been a long time since you've had…"

"Doctor Cove!" Colonel Carter almost shouted from the doorway.

Jen looked from the young doctor to the commander of the _Sun Tzu_, offering a small smile. She then groaned inwardly when she saw Rodney McKay hovering in the doorway. His arms were crossed and she would swear he was angry if not for the deep concern in his blue eyes.

"How are you feeling, Doctor Keller?" Sam asked as Doctor Cove moved closer to the monitoring station.

"It's started. Hasn't it?" Jen was never one to be subtle when her work was involved. _ Too bad I could never be direct in my personal life. _It was the one trait that had held her back. _There is a place and time to be direct. You need to learn when that is,_ Amanda Cole, her supervisor used to say. _Sorry, Doctor Cole, but my life will be over shortly so I don't have time to draw things out._

"_It_?" Sam questioned, looking at the physician standing next to Jen's bed.

"Entropic cascade failure," Jen replied.

Doctor Cove shook her head as Sam shot her a '_what else did you say'_ look.

"How do you know about that?" Rodney asked as he stepped into the room.

It was under the harsh lights of the infirmary that Jen saw the scar on his right cheek. It was definitely not something the Rodney McKay in her universe had. His hair was also shorter than the one she knew and his eyes had a dullness to them that spoke of great loss.

How many times did Jen stare at Doctor McKay in the four years she lived on Atlantis? He was the crush she'd never acted on. The times they had gotten to work together, she was just a junior member of the medical department and of little concern to the Head of Science and Research. None of that mattered to Jennifer for she saw beneath his gruff exterior and fell head over heels for him anyways. Unfortunately, another woman got their first. At that thought, her eye flicked quickly to his left hand, which was resting on his right bicep. _No ring._

"I read about it. There was concern with the device Doctor… McKay was creating. My team and I on the _Daedalus_ had to study about it before Colonel Caldwell would allow the experiments to begin," Jennifer explained once she could focus back on Colonel Carter.

"I don't know," the Colonel replied. "We've had several instances of individuals from other realities in ours with no affects whatsoever." Sam's blue eyes drifted to Rodney, who had not taken his cobalt gaze from Jennifer.

The physician felt exposed. It appeared he was trying to see something in her but she had no clue what. It was unsettling, but he was still in some way the Rodney McKay she'd held a torch for all these years so a small part of her welcomed his attention.

"So I need to hope my reality is _close_ to yours," Jennifer said at barely more than a whisper. Multiple SG1 gate teams had shown up at once in her universe and that was the explanation Doctor Lee had in the file.

"You have a fairly good grasp of physics." Rodney spoke for the first time.

Jen felt a familiar fluttering in her stomach that the sound of his voice always caused. The fact that there was pride in it made her heart swell and a flush spread over her cheeks. "I'm not so sure about that. Given the fact that all of you are in drastically different positions in this universe and are at war with something we never encountered in mine, I can't image we are too close."

"It's not like that," Rodney explained, edging closer to the bed as if he was afraid of her. "It has nothing to do with what is happening in the realities so to speak. One tiny variation could have massive ramifications, yet the universe be only once removed from ours."

"So we'd need to sit around and go through every variation between our realities to see where they diverged?" Jennifer asked.

"I'm afraid we don't have time for that, Doctor, and it won't help us anyways," Sam replied. "You really don't know about the Replicators?" The Colonel was genuinely surprised by that fact.

"No. We got to Pegasus almost ten years ago," Jennifer explained, very conscious of the fact that Rodney was now standing next to the foot of the bed and keeping his eyes on her face. "We fought the Wraith for about two years until Doctor Beckett developed a treatment that made the Wraith human. The Wraith have been killing each other for years with the retrovirus. Turning rival hives into humans and feeding on them. Since they haven't attacked the human populations or us since then the IOA kept us out of their civil war. We have used that time to explore the galaxy."

"That's one tiny variable." Rodney smiled. "Your Carson probably changed one extra gene ours didn't and look how things turned out."

"But that doesn't mean I'm not going to die?" Jen stated trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

"No." Rodney sadly shook his head. "Unfortunately, I think it's only going to be a matter of waiting to see what happens." It was obvious in his crestfallen face that the smartest man in two galaxies had no idea how to help her.

"Thanks for being honest with me, Doctor McKay," she replied.

"Rodney," he responded without thinking.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Doctor Cove said. "I need to run some tests. Once I'm done, she's free to move around."

Jen let out a shaky sigh and smiled at Rodney one last time. He turned quickly, but not before she saw incredible pain in his eyes. _I wonder what I did to him?_

* * *

Once Rodney stepped into the corridor, he slumped against the wall. His eyes squeezed shut and fists pressed against them. The last two months on the _Sun Tzu _allowed him to finally start over. No fear of running into her accidentally. _And now this._

"Rodney," Sam's voice and comforting hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his sorrow. "I'll walk to engineering with you. Doctor Kusanagi should have uploaded the data she picked up when the rift opened."

Rodney snapped to attention and shook his head. "You do know that we don't have enough power even if we did find out where she really came from."

"I cannot begin to imagine what's going on in your mind," Sam said, rubbing his shoulder and looking concerned as he moved away from the wall.

"She's… _Jennifer_," he said, fighting the lump in his throat. He'd been unable to say anything to Sam after her comment. The pain was too raw as was the sudden resurgence of a long dead emotion… hope. "Her hair's longer than I've ever seen it and she's got no make-up on. Exhaustion and terror are fighting against that strength she always had to hold herself together." Rodney paused when they reached engineering, "But she's the spitting image of the woman I've loved for over six years."

"_Only_ in appearance Rodney," Sam added. "She's a different woman. She's in a strange place and surrounded by people who are both familiar and alien at the same time."

"I just…" Rodney closed his eyes again. "I just can't help but wonder if this is some universal second chance for me."

"You really think like that?" Sam asked.

"I told you about all the McKays and Kellers out there. The ones that obviously made it work."

"Rodney," Sam spoke like his mother when he was a little kid. "We are at war with the Replicators. You're my chief engineer. I need to know if you can handle being around her. That her presence isn't going to distract you." His old friend's eyes bore into his like two blue oceans clashing into each other. "If you'd rather I send her back to the _Daedalus_…"

"No," Rodney answered. "I… I want to talk with her some more."

"She does seem to brighten when you talk to her," Sam said.

"Really?" Rodney asked in the hopeful voice she remembered from so long ago.

Throwing her arms around him in the middle of engineering should have set the rumor mill on fire for a month, but the team on the _Sun Tzu_ knew these two had nothing but a sibling love for the other. "God, I've missed you, McKay," the Colonel choked out.

"Missed me?" Rodney was still shocked by Sam's actions and had butterflies in his gut at the thought of this Jennifer being affected by him.

"Yes," Sam replied, pulling away and straightening her jacket. "Your naïveté when it came to women was one of your most endearing qualities."

"Well, we all know where that got me," Rodney grumbled. For once the pain of remembering the night he caught Ronon and Jennifer in bed together wasn't as strong as it used to be. A pair of frightened brown eyes trying to exude calm replaced the image. _Maybe I can have my friend Jennifer back. No, she calls herself Jen._

TBC

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* * *

A/N: Dwparsnip let me in on his ideas of what happened with Rodney and Jennifer the first time so any allusions I made are fed to me from the creator of this universe. What happened to our poor Rodney wasn't very nice.**


	3. A Dream Come True

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and dwparsnip for letting me dabble in his 'verse. Thanks to **_**KoineKid**_** for the beta. All mistakes are mine.**

* * *

"So," Jen paused for effect, "why did you call me Doctor _Dex_?"

Doctor Heather Cove glanced at the door as if begging the two astrophysicists to return. When they didn't her eyes met Jen's. "Because you… or rather the Jennifer here is married to Ronon Dex."

"_The Satedan_?" Jen felt for certain she had passed out again. "No way he'd ever marry me. I don't think he even knows my name." Thoughts of the Conan-like warrior who glowered at everyone outside of his team flooded her mind. "No way."

"Well, you two are married and have a son. You've been together about six years," the _Sun Tzu's_ physician said as she finished up with Jen's blood work. "You are dehydrated and need to eat, but otherwise I can't see anything wrong with you. I will be releasing you unless you'd like to stay."

"It won't show up in my blood work," she said. Thoughts of dying began to take over, especially since the adrenaline from the battle she'd been thrown into was fading. _Replacing one terror with another. Way to go, Jen._

"I'll contact Colonel Carter to find you a room…"

An alarm went off, stopping both physicians from their conversation. A voice announced: _Battle stations! Replicator ship dropped out of hyperspace!_

"Where do you want me?" Jen asked the startled woman as she jumped off the infirmary bed.

"I-I…" Doctor Cove appeared confused.

"Where do you need an extra pair of hands?"

"Surgery?"

"Okay, I'll be there. Let's hope I won't be needed," Jen said as she headed to the prep area.

* * *

"Dammit!" Rodney muttered as he watched the _Daedalus_ break apart under the energy beam of a Replicator ship once again on the monitor. Turning in disgust at losing the old battleship that had saved Atlantis several times, he headed off to check on an old friend.

The crew had been rescued with Colonel Lorne being beamed directly to the infirmary, which was where Rodney was headed. The _Sun Tzu_ took a heavy hit to the aft section of the ship, but Miko and he managed to keep the hyperdrive system isolated so they could jump from the battle and then make repairs in the safety of another system. It had taken ten hours to get them going after that and now they desperately needed to get back to Atlantis.

"I'm sorry, Colonel, but you cannot get out of bed. You're lucky you didn't lose your leg. If Doctor Keller wasn't such a good surgeon, you probably would have," Heather Cove was angrily stating to Lorne.

"Stop bothering the pretty doctors, Evan," Rodney said from the doorway.

"You're in a good mood for almost losing your ship," he snarled back.

"He doesn't get out of bed," Heather scolded McKay as she passed him with an angry look.

"I do believe that woman hates you." Lorne chuckled and then groaned.

"She'll never forgive me for the lemon scare," Rodney chuckled this time.

"Then she should hate Mitchell," Evan said.

The moment of light-hearted teasing was over; the name of a fallen comrade had that effect. "How bad is it?" The physicist nodded toward Lorne's heavily bandaged left leg.

"Not that… And look, here's my guardian angel," Lorne said, breaking the silence and smiling at a figure behind McKay.

Rodney turned and saw Jen in clean surgical scrubs stepping into the room. If she had looked exhausted ten hours ago, she looked like she was a zombie now.

Jen offered a weak smile to Evan and then looked at Rodney. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said softly. "You look beat."

"No sleep in over sixty hours will do that," she said, trying to keep it light.

Rodney knew he was about to make a big mistake but couldn't stop himself. "Are you off duty?"

"I'm not _technically_ part of the crew, so I'm not _on duty_," she explained.

"Good." Rodney gently but firmly grasped her upper arm, turned to say farewell to Lorne and led Jen out of the infirmary.

"W-what are you doing?" she gasped as she attempted to tug her arm from his grip.

"Making sure you get some rest and don't get dragged into playing doctor again."

"But I am a doctor," she said. "Rodney, stop."

He stopped abruptly and turned. "I'm making sure a friend takes care of herself. I realize we don't really know each other, but I know you… in this universe and you know me in yours, so…" His brain was scrambling to catch up to the actions his heart had taken. "Um… I'm trying to help you. The only thing I can do right now is make sure you get some rest. I need to get back to engineering so you can sleep in my quarters."

Brown eyes widened and panic flitted over her face.

Rodney suddenly released her arm. _You idiot._ "Jennifer… I mean… Jen, are you afraid of me? I'd never hurt you. I just thought you might be stubborn and not take care of yourself."

"N-no. I don't think you'd ever hurt me. Ah… I… I don't want to put you out of your quarters. I know you're usually too stubborn to rest as well." A slight smile tried to make its way across her tired face.

"I guess our alternative versions are pretty similar to… us." He smiled as he saw her face relax even more.

"I don't think mine is. There's no way I'd marry Ronon Dex."

Once the words were spoken Rodney felt all humor leave his features. _Cove must've told her. _Uncertain of how to respond without pouring out his heart to her, he settled for completing his mission to get her some rest. "My quarters are close by. Come on."

* * *

Jen groaned and flopped into the desk chair in Rodney's quarters. His quarters were impersonal: a desk with chair, bed, small loveseat, several large monitors, a dresser with a small coffee maker and fridge on top, nothing on his walls and only one photo on his desk - a Christmas picture of his sister, her husband and their two children.

_What are you doing here? _Jen's head was spinning with tons of ideas, some bordering on the ludicrous, as to why Rodney practically dragged her to his room. "Maybe he mooned over you in this verse like you did in his. Right… and then he lost you to Ronon like you lost him to his wife," she muttered aloud.

Thinking of that particular conversation made her face turn red. When Elizabeth told her that she and Rodney had been secretly married, Jen nearly passed out. Then for the expedition leader to explain that Rodney usually didn't realize he was flirting only drove home how pathetic her social skills were.

Looking at the bed that Rodney slept on only added to the pain of her loss. Not that she had loved him and lost him, but she had a dream that was Rodney it could never be. _But this Rodney isn't married? Stop it, Keller. You're exhausted and probably dying as you can't think straight. _

Pushing her stupid thoughts out of her addled brain, she went to the bathroom, realizing that she had nothing here. All her personal effects where… she couldn't even remember what happened to her backpack. _Was it on the Daedalus? Did she even bring it with her?_ Tears began to well up as she thought of her photos of her family. _Gone._

A sob was released from her petite frame. Since it was finally allowed to burst forth, another followed it and another. As she dropped to the floor in Rodney's bathroom, she grabbed for something to keep her from hitting too hard and only managed to yank his blue bathrobe off a hook on the back of the door. Curling up with it on the floor, she let the trauma overwhelm her.

Jen lost track of time as tears from every pain and moment of despair in her life seemed to come out. She was certain it had to do with the entropic cascade failure. _You see your life before your eyes. _Images of being teased in school for caring about her grades, losing her mother, seeing Rodney and Elizabeth finally tell the expedition they were married, leaving to serve on the _Daedalus_, and now… Another sob echoed through the cold bathroom, as she tried to erase all thoughts from her head.

* * *

"Jennifer!" Rodney's voice cut through her crying.

Arms lifted her off the floor as a concerned voice bombarded her with questions and reassurances. She clung to the words and the tone of voice like the dying woman she was. Rodney was telling her it would be okay. He'd keep her safe. And it made the pain subside a bit.

A soft bed rose up to greet her. When her savior tried to pull away, she wrapped her arms around him and held on tightly. It was a dream come true to be in his arms, and she wasn't going to let it go so quickly.

"J-Jen…" Rodney stammered. "I know I shouldn't have left you. I'm sorry. I thought you'd sleep." He pushed her back so he could look into her face.

Through blurry eyes all Jen noticed was how close he was to her and that his blue eyes were wide with fear. A fear she placed there. _He really is concerned about me. _Only in fantasies had Rodney McKay ever been so near that his breath could be felt on her cheeks.

Jen couldn't prevent her eyes from falling to his lips. As if Rodney were reading her mind he seemed to be moving closer to her. Closing her eyes against the tricks her mind was playing on her, she nearly jumped when his lips finally brushed hers.

A tiny voice in her head yelled, _what are you doing kissing Rodney McKay_? A louder voice said, _shut up and enjoy_, which is exactly what she did. Once his lips closed on hers and began softly kissing her, all the troubling thoughts she'd dwelled on for days vanished. All that registered was the feel of a man she'd wanted for almost a decade. When he pushed her down and his weight pressed her into the mattress, she didn't have a care in universe.

TBC

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A/N: Doubt I'll update before Christmas so if you celebrate it: a Merry Christmas cliffhanger from me :-D**


	4. The Morning After

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and sorry for the long wait. Strong T rating on this chapter. Thanks as always to **_**Dwparsnip**_** for looking over this and letting me use his set-up for this story.**

* * *

When Jen woke up a great many things hit her all at once: she felt well rested, her body was stiff in some unusual places and she was naked. Sitting up quickly and looking around the room, memories from the night before washed over her. A smile spread over her face but quickly became a frown when she realized she was alone.

Upon closer inspection of Rodney's quarters she saw a duffel bag on the love seat that hadn't been there the night before. Flying over and tearing it open, fresh tears tracked down her face as found her photo album in it. For once she was glad she kept real photos and didn't rely on digital ones for her personal history. Seeing her mother and father with a young Jen Keller, who had just won a science award, made her heart ache, but she was so glad to have it.

A shiver ran through her as she once again realized she was still naked. Grabbing Rodney's robe off the arm of the loveseat, she headed to the bathroom. On the way she noticed there was a fresh pot of coffee on the warmer and a mug with sugar sitting next to it. She smiled once again and hugged herself tightly. _Rodney might not have been here when I woke up but he thought about me._

Jen had never spent the night with a guy and never imagined she'd do it with one she just met. Embarrassment and uncertainty tried to push their way to the surface, but the after affects of her and Rodney's lovemaking was a stronger force. "I refuse to be ashamed of what I did. Time to turn over a new leaf and go after what I want. No more mousy Jen Keller."

After giving herself a pep talk she turned to grab some coffee and get ready to face the day.

* * *

Rodney stared at his untouched breakfast. He barely slept after he and Jen made love. Shaking his head and groaning in frustration, he pushed away from the table and dumped his food.

"Morning, McKay," Sam called as she entered the mess. "Hey, you look like crap," she said after closer inspection.

"As I should," he muttered. "I'm off to check on Lorne. I'll see you later."

"Okay," Sam said. "Anything you… want to talk about?"

"No!" he nearly shouted. "Sorry, I… I didn't sleep."

Sam's eyebrow rose critically and Rodney was afraid she could see right through him. "Catch you later," he said and nearly ran out of the mess hall.

* * *

Rodney felt awful. When he found Jen on the floor of his bathroom sobbing uncontrollably, his first thought was that she was dying. Scooping her up and carrying her to his bed was an uncontrolled reaction. _The entire night was out of my control._

Jen's helpless expression drew him in. The feel of her in his arms after being without her to hold for years pushed him to kiss her. Her response caused him to press her into the bed and lose his self-control.

He knew he was thinking about _Jennifer_ when it started. Jen's uncertainty and shyness when he'd removed their clothing should have helped him regain his control, but it didn't. The lack of a scar on her abdomen was another sign that this was not the Jennifer he'd fallen in love with. It wasn't until he'd been so lost in her arms and kisses that he'd been unable to stop himself that the reality of the situation hit him. Jen Keller had been a virgin. _But you took care of that, didn't you McKay._

Certain that when he saw Jen she'd slap his face, he slowed down and looked around every corner for her. When Rodney finally reached the infirmary, his head pounded and he felt like he was going to throw up.

"You look worse than I feel," Lorne stated when the Head of Engineering finally reached his room.

"I feel worse," Rodney said as he slumped into a chair. "Wish Sheppard was here."

"That's really nice, McKay," Lorne said, shifting to look at the defeated man next to him. "John's not around so you'll settle for his old second-in-command? You sure know how to cheer a guy up."

Rodney huffed and shook his head. "Maybe I'm upset you lost the _Daedalus_? It saved us so many times it was like a member of the family. You know, now that I think of it, I loved the _Orion_ too."

"What're you getting at, McKay?"

"That you should never be given a ship we want to keep to command," Rodney said.

"Hey…" Lorne started only to have Rodney shush him when voices came from the main area of the infirmary.

"Doctor Keller," Doctor Cove said.

"Jen. Please call me Jen."

"You look great this morning, Jen. You must have slept really well."

"Um… yeah. I did. Really well." Her voice softened with each comment.

Rodney's brain was trying to process the conversation he was overhearing. _Jen sounds happy? Did she enjoy it?_ He _knew_ she physically enjoyed it, but he didn't know about her emotions. She'd basically passed out before he could cuddle her into his arms. If he didn't know all she's been through it would have crushed his ego to have a woman respond to him so strongly and then fall asleep.

"Where did you end up sleeping?"

"Uh… Um, Doctor McKay was nice enough to let me use his quarters."

"Ow," Rodney snapped quietly as he felt Lorne's hand reach out and grab his sleeve and some flesh underneath it. "Wha-."

"You didn't!" Lorne's blue eyes shot daggers into Rodney's. "You come in here looking like shit, whining about feeling worse than I look."

Rodney yanked his arm out of Lorne's grasp and quickly moved to close the door. "I…" he started, but didn't know what to say. He felt the need to confess, to get some type of absolution for what he'd done. John would have been the perfect candidate, but Lorne would have to do. The Colonel had known Rodney a long time and knew when he was ashamed.

Evan closed his eyes, shaking his head. "I can't believe you took advantage of that sweet girl. Does she know that you were thinking she was someone else? Another version of herself?"

"Stop it! No. She doesn't know about Jennifer and me unless someone told her," Rodney said. "Great. That'll make this even worse."

"McKay, I honestly don't think you could do anything worse than to take advantage of a terrified woman to satisfy six years of heartache."

"She was a virgin."

"Okay. That's worse." Lorne shook his head once again. "I do wish John were here. Although I don't even think Captain Kirk has done anything like this."

Rodney closed his eyes and leaned against the door. _I'm going straight to hell._

**

* * *

TBC**

**A/N: I don't usually have my heroes kiss and tell, but Rodney's really floundering for help here.**


	5. Atlantis Interlude

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and support for this story. No true beta on this so sorry for any mistakes.**

* * *

**Atlantis**

General Ellis delivered the bad news about the _Daedalus_ during his staff meeting. His senior team was assembled around the table: Colonel Sheppard with Lieutenant Colonel Teldy, Zelenka with Peter Grodin, Teyla, Ronon and Jennifer Dex. The CMO had not had time to pick a second in command after Doctor Cole went to the _Daedalus_.

Tears ran freely down her cheeks as she looked over the casualty reports that also included the deceased. "She was so excited to take command of her own infirmary," Jennifer said quietly, while swiping tears from her eyes. Ronon placed a reassuring hand on his wife's shoulder.

"We'll have a memorial for all those lost on the _Daedalus_ once the _Sun Tzu_ arrives tomorrow night," Ellis stated. "They are going to need some major repairs as it sounds like McKay and Kusanagi have held it together with their stubborn pride."

John chuckled. "Then it'll be running for the next decade."

The others laughed and Zelenka added, "Lorne cannot blame me this time."

Ellis broke into the comments about the _Orion_. "Colonel Lorne will need some time to recover from his injury according to the report so I imagine you'll have plenty of time to discuss his loss of two ships."

"How badly was he injured?" Teyla asked.

"Broken leg that cut into his femoral artery," Jennifer read. "If the surgeon didn't work as fast as he did Lorne would be dead."

"Way to go Doctor Cove," Teldy added. Everyone knew of Sheppard's new 2IC and Lorne's attraction for each other and how they tried to ignore it because of their positions. Once Lorne left Atlantis they had allowed themselves a bit more openness with their feelings.

"Actually it says the surgeon was JMK. I don't know who that is?" Jennifer replied shaking her head as she looked up from the tablet. "I thought I knew all the medical staff."

"Interesting that you should notice that," Ellis said. "I've got another piece of information that's not vital to the mission, but I wanted to share it because it'll make things… _interesting_ when the _Sun Tzu_ arrives."

All eyes turned to the General who was never so nebulous in his words.

"What happened, sir?" Sheppard asked.

"The _Daedalus_ encountered a tear in space-time during their initial attack by the Replicators," Ellis started.

Zelenka and Grodin both leaned forward. "Did they get a message from another dimension?" the Czech asked.

"Not a message. A person."

"Rod?" John asked. "It'd be nice to see him again."

"Rod?" Jennifer asked.

"We encountered a Rodney McKay from another dimension several years ago," Peter Grodin explained. "He was quite different from the one we all know and love." A quiet spread over the room as Grodin's eyes widened.

"No, it's not Doctor McKay," Ellis quickly stated.

Peter was trying to ignore the glare he was receiving from the Satedan and muttered, "Is this person still alive?"

"Why wouldn't they be alive?" Teldy asked.

"Entropic cascade failure. It can occur when multiple versions of the same person are in the same dimension," Zelenka explained. "The one that doesn't belong there can die."

"It doesn't always occur. Rod had no effects," Peter added.

"But he wasn't here very long," Radek jumped in.

"I'm sure this is fascinating to all of you, but not relevant at the moment," Ellis interrupted. "Doctor Jennifer Keller is alive and well after almost five days in our dimension. Colonel Carter doesn't believe she will suffer from any effects from entropic cascade failure."

"_Keller_?" John nearly shouted as his eyes along with everyone else's swung to Jennifer Dex.

Her eyes widened in horror and her mouth fell open. "Jennifer Keller? As in _me_?"

"You from another dimension," Sheppard added.

Silence once again descended on the room and Ellis broke it by adding, "Carter already put her in for a commendation. She appeared shortly after Doctor Cole was killed and took over the _Daedalus'_ infirmary, saving countless lives and then saved Colonel Lorne by jumping in with his surgery. Looks like this Doctor Keller is much like our own." Ellis nodded at Doctor Dex. "And that's all I have so this meeting is adjourned."

Teldy, Zelenka, Grodin and General Ellis left, leaving John, Teyla, Ronon and Jennifer, who still looked shell-shocked.

"I don't want another me," she said to no one in particular.

"It doesn't matter if there's another one of you," Ronon said. "You'll always be the CMO of Atlantis. Ellis isn't going to replace you with another version of yourself."

"She doesn't have a _child_," Jennifer snapped, her eyes flashing to John and Teyla. "It was an act of the president to keep me here. _A child in a war zone?_ Now I can be brushed aside for another version." Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to let them leak. "Sam's already impressed with her. Swooping in during a battle to save lives."

"Jennifer," Teyla offered in her gentle voice. "No one is talking about replacing you. I am quite certain the other Jennifer is more frightened of being away from home than what job she will end up with. Perhaps she has a family she left behind."

Jennifer sat up a little straighter. "Then we should get her back. You sent this Rod back because I don't know two McKays?"

"The ZPM was depleted to do it. There is no way anyone will allow that to happen again," John said. "I suggest you figure out how you'd react in another dimension so you can help yourself when she gets here."

* * *

**Sun Tzu**

The question Jen needed to ask Doctor Cove and her reason behind it was extremely embarrassing but it had to be done. _How could I have been so careless? _Of course she knew the answer: the man she'd been in love with for years was making love to her. _Why would I even think about contraception?_

"Can we step into your office for a minute?" Jen asked. Heather nodded and she followed the acting CMO of the Sun Tzu into the small office in the back of the infirmary.

"Is something wrong?" Heather asked as she leaned against her desk.

"I was wondering if I could modify one of your hand held scanners to use as a portable ultrasound?"

"You can do that?"

"Radek showed me during one of my lessons," she added.

"Lessons?"

"In my universe Doctor Zelenka ran a school of sorts on Atlantis for those without the gene who wanted to learn more about Ancient technology. I was his star pupil," her voice got a nostalgic tone to it as she remembered impressing the Czech on a routine basis.

"Why would you want to modify one? They can already determine breaks, etc. And you can put Lorne under the big scanner this morning," Heather replied as she turned to grab a scanner off her desk. "If you want to remain his doctor? "

"I'd like that. He's…" Jen paused because she'd had little interaction with the Major Lorne in her universe. She took the scanner from "Nice."

"Yes, Lorne is real nice, but I should warn you that Colonel Sheppard's second in command, Lieutenant Colonel Teldy, will kick your ass if you make a move on him."

"No, no, no, no," Jen laughed. "I'm not interested in him like that at all. This is for a more personal reason."

"Personal? Do you still feel sick? You look great this morning: color in your cheeks, well-rested," Cove continued as she stood to look down into Jen's brown eyes.

"I did something really careless last night and if I modify the scanner I should be able to determine if anything… happened because of it in a day or so," Jen said, trying not to reveal too much.

"What happened?" Heather's eyebrows rose and her voice took on concerned tone. "Doctor McKay didn't… You said you were in his quarters?"

Jen felt her cheeks flame. "We got a little carried away," she admitted. "I'm never good at keeping up on my shots since I'm not involved with anyone."

Heather shook her head. "McKay must be the only man to ever sleep with two versions of the same woman."

"What?" Jen nearly screamed.

"Oh… crap," Doctor Cove said with an air of McKay to the phrase.

TBC

* * *

**A/N: Yes, getting nasty with the cliffhangers again, I know.**


	6. Conversations

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for following this. Your feedback keeps me writing because I really do get surprised that you enjoy the crazy ways my mind thinks. **

**All mistakes are mine. Thanks **_**Betherdy Babe**_**, **_**KoineKid**_** and **_**Dwparsnip **_**for their pre-reads and to the _real_ Sergeant Davids for her likeness.  
**

* * *

Doctor Cove finally kept quiet much to Jen's annoyance. No matter how hard she pressed Heather to explain the comment about Rodney sleeping with Jennifer, the other physician refused. A frustrated Doctor Keller left the office, seeing Rodney leaving Lorne's room without a glance in her direction. _So, this is what the morning after is like? _

Turning her attention from the thoughts racing through her head to the duty to her patient, the physician grabbed a laptop and went to check on the Colonel. _Maybe Lorne can shed some light on Rodney and Jennifer._

"Good morning, Major," Jen said and then chuckled. "Sorry, I mean Colonel."

"Whoa. Wait a minute. You mean I'm still a _Major_ in your universe?" Evan's blue eyes widened and a look of annoyance crossed his face.

"Yes. Major Evan Lorne is the second-in-command of Atlantis under Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard," she explained, looking at the monitors around his bed.

"How long have I been a Major?" he asked, his eyes narrowing and arms crossing.

Jen couldn't help but laugh outright at his actions. "This really bothers you."

"I'd hate to think I'm stuck in my career somewhere," he replied.

"Major Lorne and I weren't friends. We never had any personal conversations so I don't know how long you were a Major or if you were _stuck_," she confessed as she took his hand to take his pulse. Even though the equipment could tell her all she needed, the physician still liked to do some things the old fashioned way.

"That's too bad," he said, his features softening. "Maybe we can be friends now?"

The Colonel's eyes held her gaze and made her flush slightly. "I'd like that," she replied. _Is he hitting on me? Just what I need. No one paid any attention to me and now I've got two men with beautiful blue eyes trying to be close to me. _

Just thinking about Rodney's _closeness_ the night before make her cheeks darken. Hoping to find out more about what Heather said, she asked her new friend, "Are you friends with Jennifer Dex?"

Lorne's features fell and his body tensed. "We… we were close a long time ago, but I haven't been on Atlantis for years."

"Were you friends before she became Doctor Dex?" Jen felt weird whenever she said that name. It felt unbelievable to imagine she was married to that big warrior in some universe.

"Why are you so interested in my friendship with Jennifer?" Lorne asked with a brow raised.

"Because Doctor Cove told me that Jennifer's been married to Ronon for six years and they have a son," Jen replied. She had no idea why she was saying this to a man she barely knew, but she did just sleep with someone last night after knowing them a few hours. _Why the hell not go for broke?_ "I'm trying to figure out what kind of person Jennifer is. There is no way I could ever imagine being involved with a man like him. I wonder how different my life was from hers for her to make a choice like that."

"What she said is true. I'm sure when you get to Atlantis you and she can compare where your lives diverged," Lorne offered, his eyes studying her closely.

Jen felt the intensity of his gaze. It felt like he was trying to look through her to see something hidden. "Colonel, can I ask you something _personal_?"

Lorne stiffened once again. "Depends what it is."

"You seem to be close to Rodney… I mean Doctor McKay," she stammered, heat rising in her face once again.

"We're pretty close. Why?" His eyes narrowing as he waited for her response.

"What do you know about his relationship with Jennifer?" Jen met his gaze and tried not to flinch as she saw his features freeze.

"I… I'm sorry but I can't really help you with that." Lorne's eyes averted. "You should talk to Rodney about any relationship he had with Jennifer."

"So they _were_ involved?" Jen jumped on his words, which confirmed in her mind what Heather said.

"I… Jen, you should talk to McKay," Lorne said, looking at her this time.

"If it's something that'll make him upset, I'd like to know ahead of time." The last thing Jen wanted was to bring up some failed romance. _Perhaps Jennifer used him to make Ronon jealous._ That thought made anger burn through her petite frame.

The Colonel looked at her as if he were once again trying to discover something behind her eyes. He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "McKay's always upset, but I think you two need to talk."

When he said _you two_ the physician felt the constant flush on her face intensify. _Did Rodney say something about last night? _Then Jen groaned as she remembered how quickly rumors flowed around the _Daedalus_. "I will. I'm… I-I haven't seen him this morning _yet_…"

Lorne seemed to be holding his breath, waiting for her to embellish. Once she changed the topic to discuss his condition, the Colonel relaxed.

* * *

Once she left Lorne's room, Jen tried to call Rodney only to realize she didn't have an earwig. Turning to find someone to direct her to engineering, her eyes connected with a female Marine standing guard near the doors of the infirmary. The Marine held a large anti-Replicator gun, which appeared to be standard issue to the soldiers in this universe, and a look of mild interest in her eyes. The physician didn't recognize her from her universe because heterochromatic eyes, one blue and one brown, were rare and Jen would've remembered.

"Hello. I need to go to engineering," Jen said as she approached the young Marine. "I'm not sure if the _Sun Tzu_ is laid out like the _Daedalus_ so I don't want to go to the wrong place."

"I can take you there, Doctor Keller," the Marine replied as she shifted the weapon. "Since we're at war access is restricted anyways."

"Well, I don't want to take you from your post," Jen replied.

"I'm on general patrol, so it's fine."

"Thank you, Sergeant…"

"Davids, ma'am," the female Marine replied.

"Sorry. I don't recognize you from my universe," Jen said as they left the infirmary.

"As long as I'm a Marine in it, I don't mind," Davids replied with a slight smile.

Jen dealt with many Marines over her years and could hear the pride and love of the Corp in her voice. "How long have you been on the _Sun Tzu_?"

"About three years. I was on the _Daedalus_ before Colonel Caldwell was killed. I transferred over here with Major Marks."

Jen couldn't help but feel pain at the realization that her boss of the last four years was dead. Caldwell wasn't the easiest person to work for but he was always fair. "So you've never been stationed on Atlantis?" she asked needing to change the subject before her tears returned.

"No. My husband's there so the Corp won't allow that."

"Husband? Wow, I never met a soldier that was married before… I mean to another soldier. Aren't there all kind of rules against that?" Jen and Sergeant Davids were forced to pause as a large mobile generator was moved past them in the narrow corridor.

"It's frowned on, but we're the same rank and not stationed together. We're high school sweethearts, enlisted together, went through Basic and then got sent off," Davids explained.

Jen thought of being married and working with Rodney, which led her to thoughts of last night. No matter how hard her upbringing reminded her that a one-night stand was wrong, she couldn't help but feel happy. Memories of his touch, as light as a feather, yet deliberate and focused enough for her to feel like she was cherished. Muttered phrases telling her of her beauty and calling her name were the only sounds.

Jen stopped walking when a realization hit her. Until Rodney had discovered that he was her first, he called her Jennifer. _Not Jen. Why didn't I realize that before? He wasn't with me he was with her._

"Are you okay, Doctor?"

Jen looked into the Sergeant's eyes. "What?"

"You suddenly got as white as a sheet and stopped in the middle of the corridor," she said, stepping close. "Are you okay?"

"Um, uh, yeah. I… I just…" Jen stammered. The flood of emotions her realization brought to bear was nearly overwhelming.

"Doctor," Davids said as she stepped closer.

"I'm fine."

"Doctor, I know you just got here," the Marine started as she leveled Jen with a strong look, "and that you've been through a lot, but this is a small ship. There are few _secrets_ here."

_Just like all the rumors on the Daedalus._ "I'm not sure what you think happened…"

"We take care of our own around here," she offered, cutting Jen off. "Doctor McKay's been through a lot. No one around here will sit back and let him be hurt."

Jen's eyes widened. _So she did hurt him._ Anger replaced her sense of shame and uncertainty. "Then I'll fit right in. I'd never do anything to hurt Doctor McKay."

The Marine and the physician gazed at each other for several seconds. Jen's heart was beating furiously as thoughts went through her mind. _Jennifer must have used Rodney to make Ronon jealous. He wanted her just as I wanted him. __  
_

"Engineering's that way," Sergeant Davids nodded.

"I thought I needed an escort?" Jen questioned with a raised brow.

"You're obviously not a threat," she said with a wink.

Jen turned, entered engineering and was struck immediately by how similar the room was to the domain of Lindsey Novak on the _Daedalus_. At the thought of her fallen best friend, tears began to press at her eyes once again. Unable to step further into the room, she stood like a statue gazing around.

* * *

Rodney saw Jen in the doorway out of the corner of his eye. He and Miko were watching power fluctuations and trying to avert disasters when they could.

_Oh damn. I can't do this here._ His mind raced through all possible outcomes of his first encounter with Jen after he slept with her. None of them bode well for the genius.

The longer she stood there the more McKay felt the urge, as he did last night, to pull her into his arms. Realizing he was only making it worst by trying to absorb himself in his work and wait for someone else to approach her, he went to her.

As he got closer he saw that her eyes were glistening as they looked around the room, looking anywhere but at him. _Time for the ugly walk of shame._ "Jen," he said weakly. "Uh, Jen, are you all right?" _Of course she's not, you idiot. You stole her virginity and then ignored her this morning._

"Wh-what?" she stammered as her brown eyes connected with his.

_Yup, she's gonna cry. _"Jen, why don't you come into my office?"

She nodded and walked to his office without him needing to show her which way. "Thanks. I'm sorry for melting down. It's just… being here reminds me of…" Her voice broke so she quickly stopped speaking and immediately turned away from him once the door to his office closed.

"Jen, I'm sorry…"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry for what happened last night." She turned in a flash without any tears falling.

Her face was set with a different emotion, one of stubbornness. McKay hadn't seen that expression on Jennifer's face in years and for a moment he was speechless.

"I don't regret it," she said, lifting her chin.

"You… don't?" Rodney's eyes widened. "I… I mean I… you were a…"

"Yes, I was but only because I was…"

A klaxon went off in the engineering room and the sound of Japanese curse words rang out. "I gotta go." He was turning to rush out the door when he stopped. "Jen, there's some… thing I should tell you."

"Go save the day," she said with a smile. "I can't imagine you're that different from the Rodney I knew. Massive ego and all." A chuckle accompanied her words. "This can wait."

Rodney looked into similar caramel eyes to the ones he'd avoided for six years. These eyes and this face held an innocence that the Jennifer he knew had lost a long time ago. "Right. We'll talk later."

TBC


	7. Conversations P2

**A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful feedback. _Dwparsnip_ wanted more updates on this story for his upcoming birthday. Since he asked, he shall receive. Happy Birthday, bro!**

* * *

Jen sat in the mess hall staring at the stars outside the window. The _Sun Tzu_ had dropped out of hyperspace about two hours ago and she could only imagine what was going on in engineering.

"Mind if I join you, Doctor?" a female voice asked.

Jen turned, seeing Sergeant Davids standing next to her, and smiled. "Sure. I'm only using one seat."

"I love to look at the stars," the Marine said as she dove into a sandwich after sitting across from Jen.

"Normally I do too, but… we're so _exposed_ out here."

"Now you sound like a Marine," the other woman said between bites.

"Must be the battles I've been in since I got here," Jen confessed. "How do you live like this? Being constantly at war without any time to relax?"

"You get used to enjoying quiet moments when you get them," Davids explained. "Like right now. We've got food, which you didn't eat, but at least you have it. We're safe and getting to know each other."

Jen shook her head. "I've planned everything I ever do out way in advance, from what I'll wear to what I'll say at a meeting. To just live each moment is really hard."

"But as a doctor you deal with death, doesn't that make you value being alive?"

"Honestly, I haven't lost many patients. And definitely not people I care about." A sea of faces she'd never see again passed before her eyes and she was forced to look away lest the Sergeant see tears fill her eyes.

"Until now." Davids echoed the words in Jen's head.

"What?"

"You lost everyone you ever loved when you came here." She offered Jen some chips from a bag, but the physician refused.

Her father's smiling face along with her best friend, Lindsay Novak, rose to the surface of her memories. "My dad… I can't imagine I'd be able to meet Jennifer's dad. Hey, Mister Keller, looks like you've got twins."

Davids chuckled. "It'll be interesting to see where your lives diverged."

"Definitely when she dated Ronon Dex," Jen said and noticed that Davids tensed. "Is someone going to tell me why people get… _nervous_ when I mention Jennifer and Ronon?"

"It's not my place. I didn't really know her, only what she did."

"Which was?" She tried to glare at the career-soldier but succeeded in making the other woman smile.

"I don't like to gossip."

"Bullshit. You had no qualms telling me that you _knew_ I was in Rodney's quarters," Jen said hotly.

"That's a fact." She returned Jen's posture, mimicking her crossed arms and cocked head.

Jen felt her face heat up, but she couldn't help smiling. "Touché." The physician decided she needed strength so she took a few bites of food in silence while the Marine finished off a bowl of chili.

Jen felt better with a bit of food in her stomach and looked out the window to see that the stars were gone, replaced by the reassuring light of hyperspace. "Looks like they worked another miracle in engineering."

"With McKay, Colonel Carter and now Doctor Kusanagi, the _Sun Tzu_ has a great chance of being battle-ready again," Davids said with admiration in her voice.

"How many people work in engineering?" Jen asked as she looked toward the food serving area, which was being packed up for the evening.

"Six, plus the folks from the Daedalus and Carter, who I'm positive won't leave."

"Miko's the only one from the Daedalus, the other three were injured," Jen added. "Come with me." She got up and jogged over to stop a young soldier from putting the food away. "Sergeant, help me get some food and water for the folks down there. I might not be part of the medical team, but I can at least help out. It's the least I can do for all of you saving me." Jen grabbed sandwiches and chips.

Sergeant Davids stopped next to her. "You should think about sticking around. I just might put you in for the CMO position."

"Heather Cove's the CMO…"

"_Acting _CMO. And I guarantee she'd give it up in a heartbeat. Last girls' poker night she said she only wanted to be a doctor again," the Marine added, as she placed cookies and water to each box Jen was putting together for the engineers.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Sergeant Davids."

"Shyan," she replied, stretching out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Jen."

* * *

Rodney tried to ignore Jen and concentrate on his sandwich. When she showed up with food for everyone in the engineering lab he nearly kissed her. The grin she shined on him made his heart skip a beat. _It really seems like she's not upset I'd slept with her._

Everyone was bombarding her with questions about if she knew their alternate selves. In many cases she didn't, but Miko was pleasantly surprised when Jen said she knew the Japanese engineer well.

"We went to the Mensa chapter together when I was on Atlantis," Jen confessed as she took a drink from her water bottle.

She was seated across from Rodney in his specially made office chair. It was the least he could do to thank her for the food she brought. Rodney's brows rose at the idea of Jen attending Mensa meetings. _Hell, I'll start a chapter here if she'd come._

"Am I am in charge of Grodin and Kavanagh?" Miko asked with a chuckle.

Rodney couldn't help but laugh. "We should tell them you are even if you aren't."

"Grodin?" Jen said all traces of a smile left her face.

"Oh no." Rodney knew in an instant that Jen had never met Peter Grodin.

"What?" Sam asked from her perch sitting on a control panel to Rodney's left.

"Peter Grodin died during the first Siege of Atlantis, didn't he?" Rodney's eyes focused on Jen.

The physician swallowed and nodded. "Yes. I guess he survived here?"

"Yes. We broke a pencil to see who would go and fix the satellite from outside. Miller got the longest piece and stayed inside." Rodney couldn't imagine what Atlantis was like without Peter Grodin.

"What about Kavanagh?" Miko asked, trying to change the sad mood that settled over the assemblage of engineers.

"I never met him either. He left after the first year. He didn't get along with Doctor Weir or Doctor McKay."

"That was the same here, but he didn't leave," Rodney added.

"Well, the relationship between Doctor Weir and you was different in my universe." Jen's eyes widened and it was obvious she revealed something she hadn't meant to.

"Ooh!" Miko squealed excitedly and reached to punch Jen's shoulder. "Do tell."

Rodney felt heat tinge his cheeks. "I can assure you that I have never nor would I _ever_ be interested in Elizabeth as more than a friend."

Jen stifled a chuckle.

"What?" Rodney cocked his head and stared. "I'm sure it was a rumor."

"A wedding ring verifies a rumor." Jen shot back, mimicking his head tilt and cocked brow.

Laughter filled the engineering lab and echoed down the corridor.

"Well, McKay, looks like you hit the nail on the head," Sam added, nudging her head of engineering with the toe of her boot to his thigh.

"Yeah, Rodney, you were quick to imagine it was a romantic rumor," Miko added.

Jen's face brightened, her smile brought out the adorable apples of her cheeks that signified to Rodney her smile was heartfelt.

"I'm sure the other Rodney was taken in by her intelligence," he said.

"So intelligence overrules hair color?" Sam said in a skeptical tone.

"Your Doctor Weir wasn't blond?" Jen asked.

It was Rodney's turn to look shocked. _A blond Elizabeth?_

* * *

After several more jokes at Rodney's expense the engineers got up and started checking readouts. They were approaching Atlantis and would be dropping out of hyperspace soon. Jen gathered the trash and went back to the infirmary to check on Lorne and catch up with Doctor Cove.

* * *

Jen stood next to Lorne's infirmary bed awaiting the notice that he would be transported to Atlantis. The _Sun Tzu _was going to have to land on the pier because of all the damage it sustained. Most patients could be moved in wheelchairs or via a short jumper flight, but Jen was concerned about jarring the Major's leg if it wasn't necessary. Rodney said they could spare some power for one transport.

"Are you nervous about meeting yourself?" Lorne asked.

Before Jen could answer she felt a tingling spread through her body and instantaneously found herself looking into a familiar pair of brown eyes, which widened like saucers.

The two woman born as Jennifer Keller eyed one another like they would a petri dish with a newly discovered virus.

"Hello, Jennifer," Lorne said softly from his position on the bed. "Meet Jen."

**TBC**

**

* * *

**

**A/N: I always wondered if the blond actress who played the original Weir was there how would Rodney react ;-)**

**I'm off on vacation for a week and a half so not sure I'll get any more updates to my stories but you never know. Thank you for reading.**


	8. Jen on Atlantis

**A/N: Sorry for the long hiatus for this story. I am committed to finishing it soon. I just hope I didn't lose the feel for the story in the last few months. Thank you, **_**dwparsnip**_**, for letting me play in your sandbox!**

* * *

Jen and Jennifer continued to stare at one another for some time. Jen noticed that Jennifer's hips and chest were fuller than her own. _Obviously from having a child._

Jennifer's critical gaze noticed how thin this version of herself was and how long her hair was. She knew they were the same age but something about this version of her looked younger.

"Jen? Jennifer?" Lorne's quiet voice pulled the two women out of their visual inspection of one another.

"Evan," Jennifer said as she hurried over to his bed. "I'm so glad you weren't killed. When we heard about the _Daedalus_…" Her voice broke so she stopped.

"Doctor Cole was a great CMO," the Colonel said, a hand gently patting Jennifer's arm.

"I think I'll leave the two of you…" Jen started only to have Jennifer turn and glare at her.

"Security," Atlantis' CMO called into her earwig.

The door opened to show two large Marines with anti-Replicator weapons trained on Jen. She took a step back and looked between Jennifer and Lorne. "I'm not a Replicator. I don't even…"

"But you could be a clone of me. We can't take any chances until we can prove you are me from an alternate reality." Jennifer backed up as the guards entered the isolation lab.

"She's not the enemy, Jennifer," Evan chimed in, pushing himself up some on the mattress. "She could've let me die but she saved my life. There's no need to arrest her."

Jen smiled at the Colonel's defense, but she had to agree with Jennifer's reasoning. She looked at the two large men, Warrington and Richards-names the meant nothing to her-standing before her with weapons at the ready. "Of course. It's perfectly understandable. If I were an enemy, getting to Atlantis could have been my goal all along." Jen got a vibe off of Jennifer that she resented her presence and wanted to get her out of here as soon as possible. "Lead the way, Sergeants," she said as she stepped up to them.

* * *

To say Rodney McKay was pissed was the understatement of the century.

Colonel Sheppard had to run to keep up with his ex-teammate. "McKay, you gotta understand…"

"Shut it, Sheppard," Rodney didn't want to hear about security of Atlantis and all that crap. For the last 24 hours while he and the engineering team worked on the Sun Tzu's issues, Jen Keller had been held in the brig. _For security reasons until we can ensure that she's not a threat._

He increased his pace as the Gateroom came into view. General Ellis was meeting with Colonel Carter and Colonel Reynolds of the _Apollo_, which just arrived. It was a security discussion of Replicator activity, but McKay didn't give a damn.

"You are not going to…" John started only to have McKay open the doors without even swiping the controls.

"Why is Doctor Keller being held in the brig? She saved countless lives, including Colonel Lorne," Rodney shouted as soon as he made eye contact with his friend. "Sam, didn't you vouch for her?"

"Colonel Reynolds, could you excuse us?" General Ellis said to the _Apollo_ Commander.

Colonel Reynolds nodded and said a quick _hello_ to Colonel Sheppard on the way out.

"First, nice to see you again, Rodney." Ellis looked at Sam across the table and then reached to his earwig. "Doctor Dex, could you come to the conference room?"

"Why does she need to be here?" Rodney spat, crossing his arms and glaring between his last two supervisors.

"Because my CMO is going to determine medically when and if Doctor Keller can rejoin the population. She could be some type of sleeper that was sent to infiltrate Atlantis…"

"Oh please. Atlantis is so unimportant in this war I'm surprised the Replicators even remember you're here," Rodney barked. "The battle is out there with the ships. That's where we'll deal with the Replicators." He jabbed his thumb toward the ceiling. "Atlantis is a shell of its former self."

* * *

Jen looked up from the story she was reading on a tablet. The security staff was nice to her and she was fed normal food, but it was driving her nuts to be cooped up. General Ellis, Colonel Sheppard, Colonel Carter and Jennifer visited her a few times over the past day, but none would tell her when she could leave.

The door opened and Jennifer entered with a tray to take more blood. Jen knew her alternate self was doing what she was told to, but there was coldness in her manners that angered her. She would probably feel the same if Jennifer showed up in her world. _No, that's not true. You're upset and annoyed because this woman hurt Rodney and you want to know why and how._

"More blood tests?" Jen asked.

"Just a final one," Jennifer replied, not making eye contact.

"Could you do me a favor and run a pregnancy test with some of that blood?" she asked.

"_What_?" Jennifer gasped as she quickly looked up from her computer. "You think you're pregnant?"

"I was pretty careless recently so I might be. I'm not sure," Jen admitted, telling herself that she had unprotected sex wasn't as hard as it was with Doctor Cove.

"_Careless_?" Jennifer said, her eyes wide.

_Is that how I look when I'm surprise? I look like I'm twelve, okay, maybe fourteen._ "I thought I was going to die."

Jennifer's eyes got wider and then a look of understanding came over her face. "I see. I-I guess I can understand. It's very intense around here. We all have done things we…" Jennifer stood up straighter and touched her earwig. "Go ahead General." She smiled slightly at Jen and then signed off. "I need to go to a meeting. I'll have Nurse Cho finish up with this."

"Okay," Jen said.

As Jennifer left, she paused and said, "He's been asking about you. He thinks we are making a _huge_ mistake locking you up."

"_Really_?" Jen's heart was racing. _Rodney's asking about me? Even back here with her, he's thinking of me. _A grin spread over her face and she felt fourteen. "Tell him I'm fine."

"Will do," Jennifer said as she left.

_Maybe I'm wrong and everyone else is too? Maybe nothing happened between them after all and it was only rumor. _

* * *

Rodney refused to sit down and he was mildly surprised that Ellis would talk to him about Jen. There was really no reason for him to be there. Jen wasn't critical to fixing the _Sun Tzu_ and her future was out of his hands, but…

He couldn't get her out of his head. _After stealing her virginity, calling her Jennifer while I made love to her and being an overall ass, she took time to bring me food, to hang out with me. She seems to genuinely still like me._

"General," Sam said.

"Yes, Colonel Carter?" he replied while they waited for Jennifer Dex to arrive.

"Once Doctor Keller is cleared," she paused and glanced at Rodney, eliciting a grin from her Head of Engineering, "I'd like to discuss her future."

Rodney felt a warm feeling inside as he imagined what Sam would want to discuss with Ellis. _Could I possibly be so lucky as to get a second chance? An opportunity not to screw things up?_ As he contemplated working side-by-side with Jen, Jennifer Dex entered and his happiness evaporated.

The thought that Jennifer held Jen's future in her hands-literally in the tablet she held-made Rodney uneasy. She'd torn his heart out once, if she found out something _odd_ about Jen she'd do it again.

"Doctor Dex," the General said. "What have you found out?"

Jennifer looked at Rodney, who stared into her eyes. She seemed taken aback by the direct eye contact, which he'd avoided for years. "We know she's not a Replicator and she is not a clone."

Rodney huffed and uncrossed his arms with a smug look on his face. He finally took a seat between Sheppard and Carter.

"How can you be certain?" Ellis asked.

"She doesn't have a gun shot wound, like I do," she began.

"But they could have taken a sample before then, right?" Ellis asked.

Rodney rolled his eyes, but John shook his head telling him not to interrupt. "Ellis is being cautious," John muttered under his breath.

"Yes, but she doesn't have the same antibodies I do. I was exposed to the modified Hoffan virus. She wasn't because there was no Michael in her universe or at least not one that mutated the Hoffan virus," Jennifer said. She looked around the table. "Jen Keller appears to be an alternate version of myself."

"Like we told you," Rodney snapped at the General as he leaned his arms on the table.

"So what do we do with her now?" Sheppard asked, his eyes assessing Rodney closely.

"Sir, I'd like to discuss the position of CMO on the _Sun Tzu_ with her," Sam said.

"You'll have to fight Lorne for her. He's up for the _Phoenix_ once it completes its shakedown. He's already asked about requesting her there," Ellis replied.

"With regards to her future placement. There is another test I'm currently running that could impact that. Since we are in a state of war and she's still in quarantined, I feel I can reveal this without violating doctor/patient confidentiality," Jennifer said.

Rodney's head snapped up and his eyes lasered onto Jennifer. "What's wrong with her?"

Jennifer looked at Rodney and sadness covered her features. "She might be pregnant."

"_What_?" the physicist shouted.

John shook his head and muttered softly, "You didn't."

Rodney's head fell into his hands. _Looks like I already screwed this up. Why does the universe hate me?_

"_You_ slept with her?" the outraged voice of Jennifer Dex's echoed around the room.

TBC

* * *

**A/N: I realize I like to whump poor Rodney as much as Dwparsnip did in his story ;-) Yes, a stretch with the reveal by Jennifer, but I needed it for my plot.  
**


	9. Revelations

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Sorry it took a long time to update. From the reviews I could tell a lot of people forgot my story ;-) **

* * *

After her encounter with Jennifer, Jen couldn't stop thinking about Rodney and when she would see him again. Feeling like a teenager waiting for her prom date, she tried to focus on her story. It was a historical romance involving a pirate and the Spanish maiden he rescued from a shipwreck. It made her laugh to think of Rodney as a pirate so it kept her mind somewhat occupied.

A sound at the door had her leaping to her feet. When a pair of Marines entered she thought she was being transferred to another cell until she saw that the female and male Marine weren't armed.

"I thought you might want some company, Jen," Shyan Davids said. "This is my husband, Chris Raven."

"It's nice to meet you, Sergeant Raven," Jen said as she shook hands with the tall, green-eyed soldier.

"I've got a deck of cards. It's the only thing the guards would let me bring," he said. "They took the chocolate."

Jen laughed and motioned to the bed. "If you two want a seat, I'll take the stool."

"Thanks," the couple sat next to each other on the bed while Jen moved a table over and sat across from them. "I am going stir crazy in here," she confessed.

"I don't think it'll be long now. There was a big pow-wow in the conference room." Raven shuffled like he played cards often.

"Everyone's there," Shyan added. "The _Apollo_ just showed up and Colonel Reynolds got thrown out so they could talk about you."

"Everyone?" Jen tried to be nonchalant, but was dying to see if Rodney was there. _That's stupid, he's got nothing to do with medical or security._

"Yes," Shyan replied, a grin breaking her features. "Even Doctor McKay."

"Wow, she's got it bad," Chris said. "Do you play poker, Doc?"

"What do I have?" Jen felt her face flush. "Yes, I play poker."

Shyan interjected. "You're almost as pathetic as my husband. He's always mooning over me when I'm away."

"So how about five card stud?" Chris asked with even his ears turning red.

* * *

Rodney left the conference room and headed to a hidden balcony that, oddly enough, he'd never shared with Jennifer or John. It was in the tower where he'd lost several of his staff to a Replicator virus the first year they were on Atlantis. It was a place he went to often after everything fell apart with Jennifer.

As he looked out at the setting sun, he saw the first star of the night. The childhood rhyme floated through his head. _Wish I may, wish I might…_

_I never wished for a child_. Maybe once or twice he thought about it, but in all honesty he was terrified of being a parent. His childhood was so traumatic that it scared him from wanting to guide a child of his own. _Now I might not have a choice._

"McKay?" Sheppard's voice came over his earwig.

"Yes," he responded.

"General Ellis has agreed to let Doctor Keller out of isolation and… Sam wants to talk about a position on the _Sun Tzu_. I'm not sure how…"

"Thanks for the update, John." Rodney quickly shut off the earwig. _They finally believe she's not a threat._ Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose against the growing migraine, he found the inner arrogance that once had him face off against Ronon to state his intentions and headed off to find Jen.

* * *

Jen was losing terribly to the married couple across from her, but she didn't care. It was nice to have nothing to do but enjoy getting to know people. The stories they told about their exploits during their teen years, most especially all the times Shyan beat Chris in shooting competitions and how Chris was terrified of facing Shyan's Marine father before their first _official_ date.

The door opened to reveal her guards and Sergeant Warrington said, "Doctor Keller, you have a visitor."

"Oh," she paused and glanced at the Marines with her, "I already have some, but another is fine."

"We don't count," Shyan said. "We're just a couple more grunts."

"No, you're my friends." Jen was facing Shyan and had to turn quickly once both Marines started smirking.

She turned to see Rodney McKay standing in the doorway and her stomach flipped. He'd obviously showered and shaved since arriving on Atlantis. His jacket looked crisp and Jen assumed he got new clothing from the laundry service.

"Rodney." Jen couldn't keep a smile off her face, but it slowly faded as her eyes connected with his and saw them full of pain. A pain he quickly brushed aside and covered with his normal arrogance.

"Hi, Jen," he said, nodding to the Marines on their way out. "Sergeants."

"Doctor McKay, have a nice evening," Shyan said and turned to wink at Jen.

Jen didn't take her eyes off Rodney as he looked at anything but her. "Rodney, what happened?" she asked as soon as the door closed.

"You're free to go," he said, as he remained rooted to his spot inside the door.

"_But_?"

"But… _nothing_. They believe us," he said. "I-I mean they believe you… Um…The data. The data from Miko and you…" His voice drifted off as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Rodney, something's wrong." Jen closed the distance so she could stand directly in front of him and reached out to grab his upper arms. "Please tell me."

His blue eyes finally looked straight into hers and he looked afraid. "Jen, I…"

"What is it?" She gently squeezed his arms. "Did something happen to someone?"

"Jen, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't use protection," he cried. His hands left his pockets and took hers in them. "I couldn't think straight. You were so upset and then you were kissing me and we were on the bed. I-I… I've been alone so long. I… No, I didn't think." His head had dipped to look at the floor but then lifted to look her in the eyes. "I am going to do whatever needs to be done. If you are pregnant, I'll be here for you."

"You know?" Jen was stunned.

"Yes, Jennifer announced it at the meeting. Since you were technically a prisoner at the time, she thought we needed to know," Rodney explained. His hands were still holding hers and his thumb was moving over her knuckles.

Jen was furious and touched at the same time. "She just announced it to… everyone?"

"That's not the worse part," Rodney confessed, looking down.

Jen's eyebrow rose and she gripped his hands tightly. "You… didn't… Did you?"

Rodney withdrew quickly and stepped away to move around the room waving his hands. "I was shocked. I've been beating myself up over what happened…"

"And I told you not to," Jen said, following him around and grabbing his arm so he would face her. "I don't regret for one second what happened. I know it was messed up. You were thinking of another me… but… I was thinking of another you, so…"

"You were involved with me in the other universe? I thought I was married?" Rodney's eyes widened.

"No. No, we were never involved. I never even got a hug or pat on the back. I had a massive crush on you and it destroyed me when I found out you were secretly married." Jen had nothing to lose-except the beginnings of a relationship-so she let it all out. "I loved you from afar and as soon as you touched me that night, nothing short of death itself could have made me stop you."

They stood breathing heavily from their raised voices and faced each other, the truth shining in each of their eyes. They had been together under false pretenses, but the results affected them both.

Rodney's eyes softened and his breathing slowed. His hands rose to cup her face as a soft smile touched her lips. "You're really not mad?"

"Not about anything. Even if we messed up and I'm pregnant, I could never be mad at you," she confessed, her hands settling on his waist.

"You're amazing, Jen," he said, his eyes sliding from hers to her lips.

Jen had a comment on her lips, but it couldn't come out. Rodney was suddenly kissing her once again and all thoughts fled. Her hands slid around him as she moved closer.

The kiss intensified just like the one that fateful night, only this time Rodney had obviously maintained some functioning brain cells. He reluctantly pulled back and ended up resting his head against hers. "I…"

"If you apologize, I _will_ hurt you," she grumbled against his neck.

Rodney chuckled and it radiated through Jen's body, which was still held closely to his. "There's still something you need to know. You mentioned me thinking about Jennifer when we…"

Jen pushed back. "Rodney, if you don't want to talk about it, it's okay. I've gotten the sense that she hurt you…"

"Excuse me, Doctor McKay," Jennifer's angry voice sounded from behind them. "But I need to talk to my patient."

Rodney jumped and started moving away, but Jen was mad. As soon as she mentioned Jennifer, the spark in Rodney's eyes dimmed. Knowing this woman hurt the man in her arms gave her an attitude she'd never had before. She turned, keeping one arm around Rodney's waist, and was ready to tell Jennifer off.

"If Jen's pregnant, then as the baby's father I have a right to be here," Rodney stated, staring straight into a pair of brown eyes widened in shock.

* * *

TBC

*****I need to inform you about a bet that was waged recently. A certain Canadian hockey fan and this author from the Boston area made a bet on the recent Stanley Cup and this author won. The other author (can't call a nice guy a loser) needs to write a tag of Rodney and Jen from my earlier chapter. It will be M-rated so make sure you are age appropriate. Keep an eye out for it.*****


	10. Confrontation

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I know Dwparsnip is dying to write his tag when I'm finished, so I better get to it. Thanks for all the support on my crusade to ensure Rodney has a happy ending.**

* * *

Jennifer pursed her lips and let out a huff, which wasn't lost on Rodney.

His arm tightened around Jen's waist. "Who do you think you are to pass judgment on me all of a sudden?"

"What?" Jennifer gasped, taken aback by the intensity in Rodney's voice. He hadn't raised it beyond conversational level, but it felt like a sonic boom.

Jen started at the coldness in it and thought about moving away only to have his arm tighten around her. She could feel anger vibrating through him and saw that his eyes burned like a blue flame as they looked at Jennifer. "You don't have to go, Jen. You told me how you felt for the other Rodney, so now I'll tell you how I loved this version of you once upon a time."

Jennifer's face turned white and her eyes filled with tears. "Rodney."

"You see, Jen, I had a disastrous relationship with Doctor Katie Brown…"

"Katie? The botanist?" Jen couldn't help break in at the name of one of her closest friends.

"You know Katie?" He looked down at her, ignoring Jennifer who was wringing her hands and looking upset.

"She and I were good friends. You were involved with her?" Jen asked with amazement.

"We dated, but it just didn't work. Anyways, after I broke up with her Jennifer was a great help and support for me."

"Please don't do this," Jennifer said, tears falling freely down her face.

Jen glared at her. "You obviously broke his heart by using him, so shut up and listen."

"Used him?" Jennifer snapped. "You're the one who had sex with him as soon as you met him."

"And you waited until your boyfriend was off world or something?" Jen replied.

"Boyfriend?" Rodney added. "Jen, I don't…"

"Rodney, a lot of folks have told me bits and pieces so I think I know what happened. Jennifer used you to make Ronon jealous." She turned and took his hand in hers.

His blue eyes widened and he sadly shook his head. "That's not what happened, Jen."

Jen was confused and shot a frosty glance at her doppelganger. "What did you do to him?"

"Were you and Rodney a couple in your universe?" Jennifer asked, swiping at her tears.

"No. He was married to Doctor Weir in my universe," she replied, her brain at a loss for what her other self did to Rodney. "But I still fell in love with him." Rodney couldn't keep a smile off his face and Jen squeezed his hand. "And I'd never do anything to hurt him." The look she shot at Jennifer seemed to cause her alternate self to finally snap.

"This is ridiculous," she yelled. "Rodney, I tried to make it work but you were never around. You were always working."

"We're at war!" he roared. "I gave you every free hour I had. You knew what my job entailed. I don't sit around until Sheppard comes up with something for us to do like your husband. I had a full-time job besides being on the premier gate team."

Jen furrowed her brow as they spat at each other. _Rodney's acting like…_ "No!"

Rodney and Jennifer looked back to Jen, who said with a stunned voice, "You cheated on Rodney? You had him and you… you…"

"She slept with Ronon," Rodney said in an emotionless voice. "On a night she and I were supposed to celebrate our six-month anniversary. The Replicators attacked one of our allies and wiped out almost all the planet. There was some data to be retrieved, so I was in the lab working all night. When I finished early and…"

"Rodney, I said I was sorry. I…" Jennifer started, tears returning with a vengeance.

Rodney raised a hand and barked. "Enough! I came back to surprise you and found you and my teammate fresh from a shower! His clothing and yours thrown all over the place."

Jen's hands flew over her mouth as she backed up in shock. _How could a version of her possibly cheat on Rodney? It's not possible. _Her eyes assessed Jennifer, who was openly sobbing."

"I-I made a mistake, Rodney…"

"Don't ever say that!" he shouted. "You have a son. Don't you ever let him hear that you and his father are a mistake!"

The way Rodney turned red and rose his finger told Jen that he'd heard just that very phrase in his childhood. She looked between the two of them and felt tears well up in her eyes. The pain of betrayal was all over Rodney's face as was the regret on Jennifer's. _What a horrible mess this is? _

The trio stood like that for some time: Jennifer softly sobbing, Rodney and Jen squeezing each other's hand and trying to digest everything that just happened. It was obvious that Rodney had loved Jennifer a great deal. Can he get over it and accept that I'm not the same person? That I'd never hurt him.

Rodney suddenly lifted his free hand to touch his earwig. "Go ahead, Sam. Yes, she's here. I'll bring her." He said goodbye and looked at Jen. "Sam wants to talk to you."

"I-I-I need to talk to her," Jennifer stammered. She sniffled and swiped her face with her hand.

Rodney glanced around, finding some wipes and handed the box to Jennifer, his eyes reflecting both anger and pity at the same time. "Yes, you do."

Jen felt her heart rate increase once again. _This is it. My future hangs on what she says._

Rodney squeezed Jen's hand and asked. "So are Jen and I going to have a baby?"

Jen felt a feeling of immense joy go through her at Rodney's words. Once again, he seemed willing to accept whatever consequences came from their night together. _Not just my future. Rodney'll be there too._

"You're not pregnant, Jen," Jennifer stated.

Jen closed her eyes and let out her breath before meeting Rodney's blue eyes. "We'll have to be more careful next time."

The look on Rodney's face was etched into Jen's mind for days afterwards. His face held disbelief at her suggestion of further intimacy but it quickly changed to the smug little grin that she loved.

* * *

**A/N: There is an epilogue coming. **

**So now you know the sad truth of what Jennifer did to Rodney. I guess if you listen to Jewel Staite, it's what she would have done. Grrr. Thanks again, dwparsnip, for such a great story and letting me mess around with it.**


	11. Epilogue

**A/N: I decided to finally answer dwparsnip's song challenge with this epilogue. I have two songs so I'm doing 1000 words ;-)**

* * *

Jen smoothed the satin dress and stared at her reflection. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Isn't this what you dreamed about?" her matron of honor said.

"Getting married on a space ship with a Marine as my witness?" Jen chuckled.

"Let me fix that," Miko said as she swatted Jen's hand away from the elaborate comb holding her hair up.

"Something like that," Sergeant Shyan Davids replied. "Do you think I should lose the sword?"

"Yes!" Jen nearly shrieked. "Rodney'll think you're…"

"Going to castrate him?" A new voice questioned.

"Hey, get out," Shyan scolded. "Sir." She quickly snapped to attention.

"At ease and today I'm just Evan Lorne," the Colonel said. "Mind if I come in?"

"You're already in," Jen replied as the handsome man was reflected in her mirror.

"I…" He glanced at Miko and Sergeant Davids. "Could you excuse us a moment?"

"Yes?" Jen turned to face him in full dress uniform and had to catch her breath. She might be marrying Rodney in twenty minutes, but Colonel Evan Lorne was still nice to look at.

"I know this is totally unorthodox, but…" He glanced at the floor and then into her eyes. "If you'd like… maybe I could walk you down the aisle. I know you can never contact your… Jennifer's dad, but I… I did deliver you to McKay… sort of."

Jen rushed forward to hug the man who became a brother to her the last year. "Yes," was all she could manage before her tears fell.

* * *

"The search is over, McKay," John said, slapping his best friend on the back.

"In more ways than one," General Ellis added. "I can't believe you found a way to defeat the Replicators. I always imaged that you'd do it, but… finding the idea in another universe was beyond even your typical genius."

"Did he ever tell you why he started searching other universes, sir?" John said only to be met by a growl from McKay.

"Because he met all those other McKays?" Ellis replied.

John decided not to torment Rodney too much on his wedding day, especially since he got his girl in the end. "Something like that, sir."

"I was just about ready to trade you in for Lorne as my best man," he muttered under his breath when Gunnery Sergeant Chris Raven came in to announce that the bride was coming.

* * *

It was a small gathering in the mess hall on the _Sun Tzu_ to watch the union of the ship's CMO, Jen Keller, and its head of engineering, Rodney McKay. General Ellis, Colonel Sheppard, Major Teldy, Radek and Teyla were present from Atlantis along with Colonel Reynolds, Raven and Miko from the _Apollo_ and most of the _Sun Tzu_'s personnel.

Some noted the absence of the Dex family and assumed it was due to the fact that they just had a second child. Only those close to the couple knew that Jen and Rodney didn't want to add any more pain to Jennifer's life and wished her happiness as she worked at building a family with the man she chose as her husband.

* * *

Jen stood outside the doors on the arm of Evan Lorne after having to reapply her make-up with Miko and Shyan's assistance. She took a long deep breath and tried to steady her heart from beating out of her chest. Tonight she'd be Mrs. Rodney McKay and couldn't be happier.

After their quick encounter they decided to take things slowly. Meals turned into evenings of watching movies, which turned into spending all their spare time together. After Rodney's last experience he paid careful attention to Jen and their blossoming love made everyone around them nauseous. But that didn't mean their friends weren't insanely happy for them as well.

"Are you sure I can't lure you to my new ship?" Lorne asked after Raven went in to tell them to start the music.

"This is where I belong," she replied with a grin as the traditional bridal march began and Miko started her walk down the aisle where Samantha Carter waited to marry two of her crew.

Sergeant Shyan Davids preceded Jen and Evan in her dress uniform. It was the one request she made when Jen asked her best friend to become her matron of honor and Jen said she couldn't imagine Shyan any other way.

* * *

Rodney looked startled to see one of his closest friends holding his lovely bride's arm, but quickly offered Lorne a heartfelt thank you before his blue eyes landed on the woman he loved and never left her for the rest of the evening. The grin on his face lit up the room and was matched only by Jen's broad smile.

Samantha started the ceremony and when it was time for vows, Jen had only a few words in addition to the traditional promise to love, honor and cherish. "Rodney, after my journey across dimensions and through space, no matter where life takes us, you'll be in my heart and nothing can ever take you away from me."

A look of understanding crossed Rodney's face. No matter how badly he messed up in the past and might in the future, he was a part of her. Tears pricked his eyes, but he lifted her hands to kiss the finger with a golden band on it. "I love you, Jen."

Their kiss was a little longer and a lot more heated than was proper at a wedding ceremony but their friends only shouted louder and clapped longer because the McKays didn't care about anything except making their first kiss as husband and wife memorable.

The End or just the beginning for these two.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for indulging me and of course thanks to _dwparsnip_! I believe he owes the world a tag now that I'm done and he mentioned another little drabble about this verse too so keep an eye out for them.  
**

_**The Search Is Over**_** was a 1985 Top 5 Billboard Hot 100 hit song, originally recorded by Survivor.**

_**You'll Be in My Heart**_** is an Oscar winning song by Phil Collins, from the 1999 **_**Disney**_** animated feature **_**Tarzan**_**. **


End file.
